It’s often been said that the Christmas holiday period is best enjoyed by children (or those who are young at heart!) Most youngsters look forward to a visit from Santa Claus, who travels around the world on one special night, rewarding all the good kids with the presents they wished for.

Many other children, who are old enough to realise that the celebrated tale is just a fantasy, still expect to see their brightly wrapped gifts under the tree on Christmas morning. Going out to a few parties or festive events is also a major part of the seasonal excitement that children really want to enjoy.

For most parents or caregivers, the squeals of delight and enthusiastic hugs that they receive from their satisfied kids help to make the holidays extra special. I believe that there are very few adults who would willingly take away their children’s joy by denying them their heart’s desire at Christmas.

Money concerns at Christmas

However, many of the traditional holiday celebrations are often costly, and can easily consume a large portion of a family’s budget in December. While some people may save throughout the year to have enough money to spend, many more choose to finance their spending with loans or credit cards.

Even if you may have put aside some funds to make merry during the season, the current economic reality might prompt you to consider the wisdom of spending too much on frivolity when the upcoming year may herald higher inflation, more job layoffs and increasing business challenges.

For those who are reeling from the effects of their financial woes at this time, finding money to pay for holiday demands may be an added burden. Many people don’t want to feel like a mean Grinch, and may dig themselves into deeper money problems to satisfy the need for Christmas cash.

If you don’t wish to jeopardise your finances by overspending during the holidays, how can you manage the expectations of your children at this time? Let’s examine a few ideas that can help you to give your kids a financial reality check without diminishing their happiness for the season.

Recognise the priceless gifts

Children can often become materialistic as television and websites continually bombard them with messages about cool toys and must-have gadgets. If their parents don’t have enough money to buy pricey items, they may sometimes feel inferior or plan dishonest schemes to acquire what they want.

The holiday period could be a good time to teach your children important lessons about being content and giving thanks for the truly priceless gifts in life. Depending on their ages, you could create various activities and games centred on identifying and celebrating things for which they should be thankful.

For example, you could ask smaller children to write or draw what they love about their family on brightly decorated cards and hang them on the Christmas tree. Your teenagers could participate in a contest to create an original holiday song which describes all the things they feel blessed to have.

The objective is for them to understand that money can’t buy certain gifts that they would not want to live without, such as health, friends, or love of family. Let them know that although you may not have the budget to buy the presents they wanted this year, they have still have much to give thanks for.

Focus on charitable giving

Children can often get caught up in their personal needs and wants, and lose sight of how fortunate they are, compared with many other people. To help them develop empathy for others, you could use this time to educate them about the harsh reality that hundreds of children face all throughout the year.

Very often, younger children ask for new toys and discard them after a few uses. Explain to them that there are many kids who have no playthings and that they would be very happy if your family shared with them. Let your children know that this year, they would be doing the Christmas giving.

For your older kids, ask them to so some research on the children’s homes across the island and find out how many children live in these places of shelter. You might recommend that your family could adopt one of the homes and find practical ways to lend support to the institution, not just at Christmas.

Instead of focusing on the holiday events that they would like to attend, encourage your children to bring Christmas cheer to children or elderly persons in an institution. They could invite their friends to participate in carolling, or make a fruit cake and share it up with the residents.

While these tips may not completely remove your children’s desire to get presents and have parties this holiday, you might help them to be content with their blessings and to develop a charitable outlook for the less fortunate. These are invaluable holiday lessons that will last a lifetime.

Cherryl is a money coach, business mentor and founder of Financially S.M.A.R.T. Services. Her upcoming book, “The 3 Ms of Money” will reveal all the secrets she learned about financial success. Read more on money and business matters at financiallysmartadvice.com and entrepreneursinjamaica.com. Email comments to cherryl@financiallysmartonline.com.